Information processing apparatus, information processing method and program

ABSTRACT

There is provided an information processing apparatus including a control unit controlling playback of an image of an edit target, and a generation unit generating edit information including information indicating multiple edit effects applied in combination with the image of an edit interval and information indicating the edit interval, where, in a playback interval of the image, the edit interval is an interval from a playback position at a time an instruction is given during the playback of the image to a position a predetermined time after the playback position.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/718,188, filed on Dec. 18, 2012, which claims priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. JP 2011-284749 filed in the JapanesePatent Office on Dec. 27, 2011, the entire content of which isincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus,an information processing method and a program. To be more specific, thepresent disclosure relates to an information processing apparatus, aninformation processing method and a program that can set a plurality ofedit effects more simply.

Along with the popularization of a so-called smart phone, more peopletake motion pictures using a mobile terminal with a camera function.

It is also becoming popular to import motion pictures taken by a mobileterminal into a device such as a personal computer in which software formotion picture edit is installed, and edit the motion pictures byperforming cut edit or attaching various edit effects (i.e. effects)(see, for example, JP 2009-141895A).

SUMMARY

An operation flow of attaching an edit effect is that, normally, an editeffect type is selected from edit effect types prepared in advance, andan interval to which the selected edit effect is attached is searchedfor and designated while looking at motion pictures of an edit target.

In the case of using a combination of multiple edit effects, it isrequested to repeat selection of an edit effect type and designation ofan interval to which the edit effect is attached, and therefore theoperation takes a lot of troubles.

Also, even if a synergetic effect is exerted by using a combination ofmultiple edit effects to enable a more effective production, especiallya beginner in edit has difficulty in finding such a thing. As a result,even if there are enough edit effect types, they often fail to besufficiently used.

The present disclosure is made in view of such a state, and it isdesirable to be able to set a plurality of edit effects more simply.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is providedan information processing apparatus which includes: a control unitcontrolling playback of an image of an edit target; and a generationunit generating edit information including information indicatingmultiple edit effects applied in combination with the image of an editinterval and information indicating the edit interval, where, in aplayback interval of the image, the edit interval is an interval from aplayback position at a time an instruction is given during the playbackof the image to a position a predetermined time after the playbackposition.

The control unit can combine and apply the multiple edit effects to theimage of the edit interval based on the edit information in the case ofplaying the image for which the edit information is generated.

It is possible to further provide a display control unit displaying aselection screen for the predetermined time and a type of the editeffect before a start of the playback of the image.

In a case where one of the edit effects is selected as the edit effectapplied to the image of the edit interval, the generation unit cangenerate the edit information including information indicating the oneedit effect and information indicating the edit interval.

The display control unit can display a timeline in which an iconindicating an interval applying the edit effect is arranged in a startposition of the edit interval.

The display control unit can display different icons as an iconindicating an interval to which the multiple edit effects are appliedand an icon indicating an interval to which the one edit effect isapplied.

The display control unit can display an interval of the timelinecorresponding to the edit interval to which the multiple edit effectsare applied, and an interval of the timeline corresponding to the editinterval to which the one edit effect is applied, in different colors.

It is possible to further provide a management unit recording andmanaging the edit information separately from the image.

The management unit can delete information of the edit effect selectedby a user, from the edit information.

The management unit can change content of the edit effect selected by auser and record information of the edit effect representing the changedcontent, in the edit information.

Another embodiment of the present disclosure includes: playing an imageof an edit target; and generating edit information including informationindicating multiple edit effects applied in combination with the imageof an edit interval and information indicating the edit interval, where,in a playback interval of the image, the edit interval is an intervalfrom a playback position at a time an instruction is given during theplayback of the image to a position a predetermined time after theplayback position.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, it is possible toset a plurality of edit effects more simply.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an outline of an information processingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen;

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen;

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen;

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating an example of icon switching;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen;

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen;

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen;

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen;

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen;

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration exampleof an information processing apparatus;

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configurationexample of an information processing apparatus;

FIG. 13 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen;

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of thecontrol unit in FIG. 12;

FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining edit processing in an informationprocessing apparatus; and

FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining playback processing in aninformation processing apparatus.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENT(S)

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the appended drawings. Note that,in this specification and the appended drawings, structural elementsthat have substantially the same function and structure are denoted withthe same reference numerals, and repeated explanation of thesestructural elements is omitted.

<Outline of Information Processing Apparatus>

FIG. 1 is a view illustrating an outline of an information processingapparatus according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

A controller 2 including various buttons such as a cross button isconnected to an information processing apparatus 1. The user operatesthe information processing apparatus 1 using the controller 2.

A display apparatus 4 including a display such as an LCD (Liquid CrystalDisplay) is connected to the information processing apparatus 1 via acable 3 such as an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) cable.Based on data output from the information processing apparatus 1,various screens are displayed on the display of the display apparatus 4.

The information processing apparatus 1 includes image edit softwarewhich is software to edit an image taken using a mobile terminal such asa digital camera and a mobile telephone device with a camera function.An image is imported from the mobile terminal to the informationprocessing apparatus 1 via a storage medium such as a memory card and aUSB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or via wired or wireless communicationperformed between the information processing apparatus 1 and the mobileterminal.

The information processing apparatus 1 performs an edit with respect toimages such as motion pictures and contents that include multiple stillpictures and play the still pictures in a slideshow format.

An image edit by the information processing apparatus 1 is performed bygenerating edit data including information of an action tag indicatingedit effect content, in response to user's selection, and managing it inassociation with image data without processing the image data itself.For example, edit data is generated every edit target image, and oneedit data records information of an action tag which is selected by theuser and uniquely set to a target image. As described below, the actiontag information includes information indicating content of an editeffect selected by the user and information indicating an edit intervalcorresponding to an interval to which the edit effect is applied.

At the time of playback of an edited image, edit data is read out andthe image is played while applying in real time an edit effect indicatedby the action tag information included in the edit data.

<Display Example of Edit Screen> [Edit Menu]

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen displayed onthe display of the display apparatus 4 by image edit software. The editscreen in FIG. 2 is displayed, for example, when image edit software isstarted up and an edit target image is selected.

An edit menu 11 is displayed on the left side of the edit screen. Theedit menu 11 includes icons 31 to 35 arranged in a vertical direction,an area 41 and an area 42.

The icon 31 indicates playback of the edit target image and the icon 32indicates a record of a multi-action tag. The icon 33 indicates a recordof a caption action tag and the icon 34 indicates a record of specialplayback action tag. The icon 35 indicates a record of a sound effectaction tag. From the edit menu 11 in FIG. 2, it is also possible toselect an action tag edit.

The multi-action tag denotes an action tag to designate a combination ofmultiple edit effects. The caption action tag denotes an action tag todesignate insertion of a caption in the edit target image. The specialplayback action tag denotes an action tag to designate special playbackof the edit target image such as repeat playback and slow playback. Thesound effect action tag denotes an action tag to designate a soundeffect to be output in association with a display of the edit targetimage.

In the example of FIG. 2, the icon 31 selected by a cursor 21 isdisplayed in a slightly larger size than other icons. A functional nameis displayed on the area 41 on the right side of the icon 31 and anoperational explanation is displayed on the area 42 below the area 41.When a determination button of the controller 2 is pressed in a statewhere the icon 31 is selected, playback of the edit target image isstarted.

On the right side of the edit menu 11, an image display area 12 which isa display area of the edit target image is formed. When playback of theedit target image is started, the image display area 12 displays eachframe forming the edit target image.

Below the edit screen, a timeline area 13, which is a display area oftimeline indicating playback interval of the edit target image, isformed. The timeline includes a bar 51 and a pointer 52 indicating thecurrent playback position.

In the example of FIG. 2, playback of the edit target image is notstarted, and therefore the pointer 52 indicates the head position of theedit target image. “0:00:00” indicating the playback position isdisplayed on the left side of the timeline and “0:00:07” indicating theend time (i.e. playback time of the edit target image) with reference to“0:00:00” of the head time is displayed on the right side.

A message area 14 below the timeline area 13 displays various messagesrelated to operations.

A button explanation area 15 displays information related to operationsassigned to the buttons of the controller 2. In the example of FIG. 2,operations of edit image playback, cursor movement, determination andreturn are assigned to predetermined buttons of the controller 2.

The edit image playback denotes an operation used when starting playbackof the edit target image.

The cursor movement denotes an operation used when switching an itemselected by the cursor 21. For example, the cross button of thecontroller 2 is assigned to the cursor movement. When the up button ofthe cross button is pressed once in the edit screen of FIG. 2, all theicons forming the edit menu 11 shift downward and the state of the editmenu 11 becomes a state in which an icon immediately above the icon thatwas previously selected is selected by the cursor 21. Meanwhile, whenthe down button is pressed once, all the icons forming the edit menu 11shift upward and the state of the edit menu 11 becomes a state in whichan icon immediately below the icon that was previously selected isselected by the cursor 21.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating an example of the edit screen in a casewhere the down button of the controller 2 is pressed once in the stateof FIG. 2. In the edit screen of FIG. 3, the icon 32 indicating a recordof the multi-action tag is selected by the cursor 21. In response to theselection of the icon 32, the display in the area 41 and the area 42 isswitched. An icon 36 displayed below the icon 35 in FIG. 3 denotes anicon indicating an edit of action tags.

The determination denotes an operation used when determining an itemselected by the cursor 21. The return denotes an operation used whenreturning to the previous screen display.

From the edit menu 11, the user can select one of the edit target imageplayback, the multi-action tag record, the caption action tag record,the special playback action tag record, the sound effect action tagrecord and the action tag edit.

[Record of Multi-Action Tag]

FIG. 4 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen displayedwhen the determination button is pressed in the state of FIG. 3.Explanation overlapped with the explanation of FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 will beadequately omitted.

In the position in which the edit menu 11 (in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3) isdisplayed, a setting menu 61 of action tags is displayed. The settingmenu 61 displays icons 81 to 84 arranged in the vertical direction.

The icon 81 denotes a repeat production. The repeat production denotes aproduction to repeatedly play a target interval twice. The firstplayback is performed at normal speed and the second playback isperformed at slower speed than the normal speed (i.e. slow playback isperformed). Also, before the second playback starts after the firstplayback is finished, a sound effect similar to sound of rewinding avideotape is output. That is, the repeat production denotes a productionto combine and apply two edit effects of the repeat playback editeffect, which performs the first playback at normal speed and the secondplayback at slow speed, and the edit effect to attach a sound effectbefore the start of the second playback.

The icon 82 indicates a slow production (approach). The slow production(approach) denotes a production to perform a zoom-in display withrespect to the frame center while playing a target interval at slowspeed. The slow production (approach) denotes a production to combineand apply two edit effects of the slow playback edit effect and thezoom-in edit effect.

The icon 83 indicates a slow production (away). The slow production(away) denotes a production to perform a zoom-out display with respectto the frame center while playing a target interval at slow speed. Theslow production (away) denotes a production to combine and apply twoedit effects of the slow playback edit effect and the zoom-out editeffect.

The icon 84 indicates an accelerating production. The acceleratingoperation denotes a production to play a target interval at fast speedand output a sound effect indicating the acceleration during thefast-forward playback. The accelerating production denotes an operationto combine and apply two edit effects of the fast-forward playback editeffect and the sound effect output edit effect.

In addition to the repeat production, the slow production (approach),the slow production (away) and the accelerating product, it is alsopossible to select a silent product from the setting menu 61. The silentproduction denotes a production to play a target interval at slow speedand mute audio during the slow playback. The silent production denotes aproduction to combine and apply two edit effects of the slow playbackedit effect and the silent edit effect.

In the example of FIG. 4, the repeat production is selected by thecursor 71 and the icon 81 is displayed in a slightly larger size thanother icons. The right side of the icon 81 displays an icon 85indicating the length of an interval to which the repeat production isapplied.

The icon 85 including a digit of “1” indicates that an effect timecorresponding to a time period during which an edit effect is applied is1 second. By pressing the right button of the controller 2 once to movethe cursor 71 and get in a state in which the icon 85 is selected, andsubsequently pressing the up button or the down button in that state,the user can select an effect time of the repeat production.

FIG. 5 is a view illustrating an example of switching the display of theicon 85. When pressing the down button once in a state where the icon 85including a digit of “1” is displayed, as illustrated in the top ofarrow A1, the icon 85 is switched to an icon including a digit of “5.”The icon 85 including a digit of “5” indicates that the effect time is 5seconds.

Also, when pressing the down button once in a state where the icon 85including a digit of “5” is displayed, as illustrated in the top ofarrow A2, the icon 85 is switched to an icon including a digit of “10.”The icon 85 including a digit of “10” indicates that an effect time is10 seconds.

When pressing the up button once in a state where the icon 85 indicatingthat an effect time is 10 seconds is displayed, as illustrated in thetop of arrow A3, the icon 85 is returned to the icon indicating that theeffect time is 5 seconds. When pressing the up button once in a statewhere the icon 85 indicating that an effect time is 5 seconds isdisplayed, as illustrated in the top of arrow A4, the icon 85 isreturned to the icon indicating that the effect time is 1 second.

Returning to the explanation of FIG. 4, below the icon 85, there isdisplayed an explanation that the currently selected action tag is amulti-action tag in which the edit effect type is the repeat productionand the effect time is 1 second.

The button explanation area 15 displays information indicating thatoperations of the cursor movement, determination and return are assignedto predetermined buttons of the controller 2. When a determinationbutton as the button assigned to the determination is pressed once,content displayed on the setting menu 61 is determined and playback ofthe edit target image is started.

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen when thedetermination button is pressed in the state of FIG. 4.

A timeline area 13 of the edit screen in FIG. 6 displays a timelineindicating that the current playback position is the position at 1second from the beginning. “0:00:01” is displayed on the left side ofthe timeline and, in the bar 51 forming the timeline, a played intervaland a non-played interval are displayed by different colors. The editscreen in FIG. 6 indicates a display at 1 second after the start of theplayback of the edit target image.

When the playback of the edit target image is started, the state of theedit screen becomes a state in which a record position of themulti-action tag of the content selected using the setting menu 61 isdesignated. In the information processing apparatus 1, edit effectcontent is selected before the start of the playback of the edit targetimage, and an interval to which the edit effect is applied is designatedduring the playback of the edit target image.

The edit screen in FIG. 6 displays a balloon 101 in the position onwhich the setting menu 61 (in FIG. 4) was previously displayed. In theballoon 101, the content of the multi-action tag selected in the settingmenu 61 is displayed together with the icon 81, and, below it, there isdisplayed an explanation that an operation of recording an action tag isassigned to a predetermined button.

The button explanation area 15 displays information indicating thatoperations of a frame back/advance, playback operation, pause, return,edit menu and tag record are assigned to predetermined buttons of thecontroller 2.

The frame back/advance denotes an operation used when switching aplayback of the edit target image to a frame back playback or frameadvance playback. The playback operation denotes an operation used whenshifting a playback position. The pause denotes an operation used whenstopping the playback of the edit target image. The return denotes anoperation used when returning to the previous screen display. The editmenu denotes an operation used when returning to the edit screen of FIG.3 on which the edit menu 11 is displayed.

The tag record denotes an operation used when recording an action tag inthe current playback position. In the example case of FIG. 6, when a tagrecord button corresponding to a button assigned to the tag recordoperation is pressed once, the multi-action tag is recorded in theplayback position at that time.

FIG. 7 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen when the tagrecord button is pressed once in the state of FIG. 6.

When the tag record button is pressed once, in the position at 1 secondfrom the beginning of the timeline, which corresponds to the playbackposition at that time, an icon 111 indicating a record position of themulti-action tag is displayed. Also, the information processingapparatus 1 generates information indicating that a multi-action tag, inwhich the edit effect type is the repeat production and the effect timeis 1 second, is set in the position at 1 second from the beginning ofthe edit target image, and this information is recorded in edit data.

Since 1 second is selected as the effect time, an interval to which therepeat production is applied is an interval in which the position at 1second from the beginning is the start position and the position at 2seconds from the beginning is the end position. On the timeline, an iconindicating a record position of the action tag is arranged in the startposition of the edit interval.

As the icon 111, the same image as the icon 32 (in FIG. 2) displayed onthe edit menu 11 is used. Also, in the overall bar 51 forming thetimeline, the edit interval is displayed in a different color fromcolors of a played interval and non-played interval.

Even after the tag record button is pressed and the multi-action tag isrecorded, the playback of the edit target image continues. By pressingthe tag record button subsequently, the user can record the multi-actiontag in a position after the display position of the icon 111 too.

Thus, by a simple operation of pressing the tag record button during theplayback of the edit target image, the user can set the multi-action tagwhose content is selected before the start of playback of the edittarget image. Since the multi-action tag indicates a combination of twoedit effects, the user can produce a scene included in the edit targetimage easily and more effectively.

[Record of Single Action Tag]

The record of a single action tag such as the caption action tag, thespecial playback action tag and the sound effect action tag is performedusing an interface similar to the interface used to record themulti-action tag.

FIG. 8 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen displayedwhen a record of a single action tag is selected from the edit menu 11.

Here, although a case will be explained where the sound effect actiontag is recorded as a single action tag, a record of other single actiontags is performed in the similar operations. When the determinationbutton is pressed in a state where the icon 35 is selected from the editmenu 11 in FIG. 2, the edit screen in FIG. 8 is displayed.

The setting menu 61 is displayed on the position on which the edit menu11 was previously displayed. The setting menu 61 displays icons 121 to124 arranged in the vertical direction.

The icon 121 indicates a sound effect of laugh and the icon 122indicates a sound effect of clapping sound. The icon 123 indicates asound effect of sound used for games and the icon 124 indicates a soundeffect of instrument sound.

In the example of FIG. 8, the sound effect of laugh is selected by thecursor 71 and the icon 121 is displayed in a slightly larger size thanother icons. An icon 125 indicating an effect time is displayed on theright side of the icon 121. Similar to the operations explained withreference to FIG. 5, by pressing the up button or the down button, theuser can switch the display of the icon 125 and select the effect time.

Below the icon 125, there is displayed an explanation that the currentlyselected action tag is the laugh-sound-effect action tag classified intoa human/nature type.

Thus, by using the setting menu 61, the user can select the edit effecttype and the effect time, which are applied to the edit target image, asa single action tag.

When setting the sound effect action tag using the setting menu 61 andpressing the determination button, playback of the edit target image isstarted. As explained with reference to FIG. 7, by pressing the tagrecord button during the playback of the edit target image, the user canrecord the action tag in the playback position at that time.

Also, on the timeline of the timeline area 13, an icon 131 indicating arecord position of the multi-action tag is displayed. By repeatedlyplaying the edit target image, the user can further record a singleaction tag in the image in which the multi-action tag is alreadyrecorded.

FIG. 9 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen apredetermined time after the sound effect action tag is instructed to berecorded.

In the example of FIG. 9, the sound effect action tag is recorded in aposition before a record position of the multi-action tag in which theicon 131 is arranged, and an icon 141 indicating the record position ofthe sound effect action tag is displayed on the timeline. As the icon141, the same image as that of the icon 35 (in FIG. 2) displayed in theedit menu 11 is used. The icon unique to each action tag type isdisplayed on the timeline, and therefore the user can easily recognizethe action tag type recorded in each position.

[Action Tag Edit]

As described above, from the edit menu 11 in FIG. 2, it is possible toselect an action tag edit.

FIG. 10 is a view illustrating an example of an edit screen in a casewhere the action tag edit is selected by selecting the icon 36 in theedit menu 11 of FIG. 3 and pressing the determination button. In theposition on which the edit menu 11 was previously displayed, there isdisplayed an window 151 including an explanation related to an operationto perform an action tag edit.

On the timeline of the timeline area 13, icons 161 to 167 indicatingrecord positions of action tags are displayed. The icon 161 indicates arecord position of the multi-action tag and the icon 162 indicates arecord position of the caption action tag. In the example of FIG. 10,there is a state in which the icon 162 is selected and displayed in aslightly larger size than other icons.

The icons 163 to 166 indicate record positions of the sound effectaction tag and the icon 167 indicates a record position of the specialplayback action tag. For example, in the bar 51 forming the timeline, anedit interval in which the record position of the multi-action tag isthe start position, an edit interval in which the record position of thecaption action tag is the start position, and an edit interval in whichthe record position of the special playback action tag is the startposition, may be displayed in different colors.

By pressing the left button or the right button of the controller 2, theuser can switch an icon to be selected. Also, by pressing thedetermination button to determine the icon selection and furtherpressing a deletion button, the user can delete an action tag of theselected icon. When an icon is selected and the determination button ispressed, various operations such as action tag deletion and contentchange are assigned to predetermined buttons of the controller 2.

Also, in a case where a predetermined action tag is selected and actiontag content is instructed to be changed, the edit screen display isswitched and, for example, the setting menu is displayed instead of thewindow 151.

The setting menu displays an icon selected when changing the edit effecttype set to an action tag and the effect time. By moving the cursordisplayed on the setting menu and selecting a predetermined icon, theuser can change the edit effect type set to the action tag and changethe effect time.

Operations of the information processing apparatus 1 that records anaction tag using the above interface will be described later withreference to flowcharts.

<Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus>

FIG. 11 is a block diagram illustrating a hardware configuration exampleof the information processing apparatus 1.

A CPU (Central Processing Unit) 201, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 202 and aRAM (Random Access Memory) 203 are connected to each other via a bus204. Further, an input/output interface 205 is connected to the bus 204.An input unit 206, an output unit 207, a storage unit 208, acommunication unit 209 and a drive 210 are connected to the input/outputinterface 205.

The input unit 206 receives a signal from the controller 2 and outputsit to the CPU 201. The output unit 207 outputs screen data of image editsoftware to the display apparatus 4 via the cable 3 and performs displaycontrol on the display of the display apparatus 4. The storage unit 208stores an image file imported in the information processing apparatus 1by a hard disk, flash memory and so on. The image file stored in thestorage unit 208 is adequately read by the image edit software.

The communication unit 209 performs transmission/reception of data withan apparatus connected via a network or a mobile terminal connected viawired or wireless communication. The communication unit 209 outputs animage file transmitted from an external device, to the storage unit 208so as to store it. The drive 210 drives a removable medium 211 such asan optical disk, USB memory attached to the information processingapparatus 1, and reads an image file stored in the removable medium 211.The drive 210 outputs the image file read from the removable medium 211,to the storage unit 208 so as to store it.

FIG. 12 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configurationexample of the information processing apparatus 1. At least part of thefunctional units illustrated in FIG. 12 is realized by executing theimage edit software by the CPU 201 in FIG. 11.

The image storage unit 231 stores an image such as motion pictures andslideshow content of still pictures. For the image stored in the imagestorage unit 231, audio data is adequately attached.

An edit data storage unit 232 stores edit data generated by an edit datageneration unit 237. The edit data includes action tag information. Theedit data stored in the edit data storage unit 232 is read by a controlunit 236 at the time of playback of an edited image. Thus, the edit datais stored in a different storage unit from the one for image data to beedited, and managed.

A sound effect storage unit 233 stores sound effect data. The imagestorage unit 231, the edit data storage unit 232 and the sound effectstorage unit 233 are formed in the storage unit 208 in FIG. 11.

A playback unit 234 reads and decodes the image stored in the imagestorage unit 231 and outputs image data acquired by the decode to thecontrol unit 236. The image data output to the control unit 236 is dataconverted into a format in which an image output unit 238 can perform anoutput to the display apparatus 4. Image playback by the playback unit234 is performed when playback of an edit target image is instructed ina case where an edit screen is displayed or when playback of an editedimage is instructed. In a case where audio data is attached to an image,the playback unit 234 decodes the audio data and outputs audio dataacquired by the decode to the control unit 236.

An operation detection unit 235 detects a user operation with respect tothe controller 2 based on a signal supplied from the input unit 206 andoutputs a signal indicating content of the user operation to the controlunit 236.

The control unit 236 controls the overall operation of the informationprocessing apparatus 1, such as the above edit screen display and thegeneration of edit data based on the user operation with respect to theedit screen.

The edit data generation unit 237 generates edit data every edit targetimage, according to the control by the control unit 236.

FIG. 13 is a view illustrating an example of information included inedit data.

As illustrated in FIG. 13, edit data records an image ID, action tagtype information, edit effect type information, effect time informationand record position information. For example, the action tag typeinformation, the edit effect type information, the effect timeinformation and the record position information except for the image IDare recorded in edit data every action tag.

The image ID denotes identification information of an edit target image.The action tag type information denotes information indicating which ofthe multi-action tag, the caption action tag, the special playbackaction tag and the sound effect action tag the action tag is. The editeffect type information denotes information indicating an edit effecttype selected using the setting menu 61. The effect time informationdenotes information indicating an edit effect time selected using thesetting menu 61. The record position information denotes informationindicating a position on the timeline of the edit target image in whichthe action tag is instructed to be recorded. By the effect timeinformation and the record position information, a position and lengthof an edit interval are indicated.

The edit data generation unit 237 in FIG. 12 generates edit dataincluding such information, and causes the edit data storage unit 232 tostore it.

An image output unit 238 controls and causes the output unit 207 tooutput the edit screen data or image supplied from the control unit 236,to the display apparatus 4 so as to be displayed.

An audio output unit 239 controls and causes the output unit 207 tooutput the audio data or sound effect data supplied from the controlunit 236, to the display apparatus 4 so as to be output from a speakerset in the display apparatus 4.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of thecontrol unit 236 in FIG. 12. The control unit 236 includes an edit datamanagement unit 251 and an output control unit 252.

The edit data management unit 251 outputs information indicating contentof a user operation with respect to an edit screen at the time of imageedit, to the edit data generation unit 237, so as to generate edit dataas described above.

Also, after the edit data is generated, the edit data management unit251 manages edit data stored in stored in the edit data storage unit232. For example, in a case where a deletion of a predetermined actiontag is instructed as an action tag edit, the edit data management unit251 deletes information of the action tag instructed to be deleted, fromthe edit data. Also, in a case where a change of content of apredetermined action tag is instructed, the edit data management unit251 stores edit data in which the changed content is recorded, in theedit data storage unit 232.

The output control unit 252 outputs edit screen data to the image outputunit 238 to cause the display apparatus 4 to display the edit screen.

Also, the output control unit 252 controls playback of an edit targetimage. For example, in response to a playback instruction by the user atthe time of image edit, the output control unit 252 causes the playbackunit 234 to play the edit target image, outputs each frame data suppliedfrom the playback unit 234, to the image output unit 238, and displaysit on the image display area 12 of the edit screen.

The output control unit 252 causes the playback unit 234 to play animage instructed to be played, at the time of playback of an editedimage, and reads edit data including the ID of the image instructed tobe played, from the edit data storage unit 232. Also, the output controlunit 252 specifies in which position on the timeline of the image anedit effect is set and what content the edit effect has, based on eachaction tag information recorded in the edit data read from the edit datastorage unit 232.

In a case where the current playback position is a position in an editinterval, the output control unit 252 applies an edit effect to theimage supplied from the playback unit 234 and outputs the image data towhich the edit effect is applied, to the image output unit 238 so as tobe displayed by the display apparatus 4.

Also, in a case where an edit effect using a sound effect is set in thecurrent playback position, the output control unit 252 reads the soundeffect data from the sound effect storage unit 233 and plays it. Theoutput control unit 252 outputs audio data acquired by playing the soundeffect data to the audio output unit 239 so as to be output from thespeaker of the display apparatus 4 in response to the display of theimage to which the edit effect is applied.

<Operations of Information Processing Apparatus>

In the following, operations of the information processing apparatus 1having the above configuration will be explained.

First, edit processing in the information processing apparatus 1 will beexplained with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 15. The processing inFIG. 15 starts when, for example, selection related to an action tag isperformed in the edit screen illustrated in FIG. 4 and an edit targetimage is instructed to be played.

In step S1, the playback unit 234 plays the edit target image. Imagedata of the played edit target image is supplied to the output controlunit 252 of the control unit 236 and displayed on the image display area12 of the edit screen.

In step S2, the edit data management unit 251 decides whether an actiontag record is instructed.

When it is decided in step S2 that the action tag record is instructed,in step S3, the edit data generation unit 237 generates edit datarecording information of the action tag. After that, returning to stepS1, playback of the edit target image is maintained.

Meanwhile, when it is decided in step S2 that the action tag record isnot instructed, in step S4, the output control unit 252 decides whetherthe edit target image is played to the last.

When it is decided in step S4 that the edit target image is not playedto the last, returning to step S1, the output control unit 252 maintainsthe playback of the edit target image.

When it is decided in step S4 that the edit target image is played tothe last, in step S5, the edit data generation unit 237 causes the editdata storage unit 232 to store edit data recording the action taginformation, and finishes the processing.

Next, processing of playing an edited image in the informationprocessing apparatus 1 will be explained with reference to the flowchartof FIG. 16.

The processing in FIG. 16 starts when playback of the edited image isinstructed. For example, the playback of the edited image is performedwhen an action tag is further recorded in the edit screen or after apredetermined image is selected from a list of edited images.

In step S21, the output control unit 252 of the control unit 236 readsedit data including the ID of the image instructed to be played, fromthe edit data storage unit 232.

In step S22, the playback unit 234 starts playback of an edited image.Each frame image data acquired by performing the playback is supplied tothe output control unit 252.

In step S23, the output control unit 252 decides whether there is thenext frame.

When it is decided in step S23 that there is the next frame, in stepS24, the output control unit 252 decides whether the next frame isincluded in an edit interval, based on the edit data read from the editdata storage unit 232. The decision herein is performed by specifyingthe edit interval based on the effect time information and recordposition information of each action tag included in the edit data anddeciding whether the next frame is included in the specified editinterval.

When it is decided in step S24 that the next frame is included in theedit interval, in step S25, the output control unit 252 decides whetherto attach a sound effect to the next frame. For example, in a case wherethe edit data records a multi-action tag using a sound effect orinformation of a sound effect action tag, the timing of attaching thesound effect is specified by the effect time information and recordposition information included in the edit data. Also, by edit effecttype information included in the edit data, the sound effect type suchas laugh and clapping is specified.

When it is decided in step S25 that a sound effect is attached to thenext frame, in step S26, the output control unit 252 reads sound effectdata from the sound effect storage unit 233 and plays it. The soundeffect data acquired by performing the playback is output to the audiooutput unit 239 so as to be output from the speaker of the displayapparatus 4 in response to an output of the next frame. When it isdecided in step S25 that a sound effect is not attached to the nextframe, the processing in step S26 is skipped.

In step S27, the output control unit 252 decides whether to performspecial playback with respect to the next frame. For example, in a casewhere the edit data records information of a multi-action tag using aspecial playback edit effect such as slow playback, the timing ofapplying the special playback edit effect is specified by the effecttime information and record position information included in the editdata. Also, by edit effect type information included in the edit data,the edit effect type of special playback to be combined and applied isspecified.

When it is decided in step S27 that special playback is performed withrespect to the next frame, in step S28, the output control unit 252applies a special playback edit effect to image data of the next frameplayed by the playback unit 234. The image data to which the specialplayback edit effect is applied is supplied to the display apparatus 4via the image output unit 238 and used to display an image.

Meanwhile, when it is decided in step S27 that special playback is notperformed with respect to the next frame, in step S29, the outputcontrol unit 252 performs normal playback of the next frame. An imageplayed by the playback unit 234 is supplied as is to the displayapparatus 4 via the image output unit 238 and used to display an image.

After the special playback is performed in step S28, after the normalplayback is performed in step S29 or when it is decided in step S24 thatthe next frame is not included in the edit interval, returning to stepS23, the above processing is repeatedly performed.

When the playback is completed to the last frame and it is decided instep S23 that there is no next frame, the processing is finished.

By the above processing, the user can easily apply a more effectiveproduction to an image using a multi-action tag designating acombination of multiple edit effects. Also, even if the edit targetimage type is motion pictures or slideshow contents of still pictures,the user can perform an edit using the same interface.

Variation Example

Although a case has been described where the number of edit effects thatcan be combined and applied using a multi-action tag is two, it may bepossible to designate a combination of three or more edit effects by themulti-action tag.

Also, although a case has been described where it is possible todesignate a combination of edit effects applied to an image by amulti-action tag, it may be possible to designate a combination of editeffects applied to audio data by a multi-action tag.

The above series of processing can be performed by hardware or software.When the series of processing is performed by software, a programforming the software is installed in a computer incorporated indedicated hardware or a general-purpose personal computer.

The installed program is recorded in the removable medium 211illustrated in FIG. 11, which includes an optical disk (CD-ROM (CompactDisc-Read Only Memory)), DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) or a semiconductormemory, and provided. Also, it may be provided via wired or wirelesstransmission medium such as a local area network, the Internet anddigital broadcast. The program can be installed in advance in the ROM202 and the storage unit 208.

Also, programs executed by a computer may be programs to sequentiallyperform processing along the order explained in the presentspecification, or programs to perform the processing in parallel or at arequested timing such as the timing a call is made.

It should be understood by those skilled in the art that variousmodifications, combinations, sub-combinations and alterations may occurdepending on design requirements and other factors insofar as they arewithin the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

For example, the present disclosure can employ a cloud computingconfiguration to process one function by multiple apparatuses via anetwork in a shared or cooperative manner.

Also, each step explained in the above flowcharts can be performed byone apparatus or performed by a plurality of apparatuses in a sharedmanner.

Further, in a case where multiple items of processing are included inone step, the multiple items of processing included in the one step canbe performed by one apparatus or performed by a plurality of apparatusesin a shared manner.

[Configuration Combination Example]

Additionally, the present technology may also be configured as below.

(1) An information processing apparatus including:

a control unit controlling playback of an image of an edit target; and

a generation unit generating edit information including informationindicating multiple edit effects applied in combination with the imageof an edit interval and information indicating the edit interval, where,in a playback interval of the image, the edit interval is an intervalfrom a playback position at a time an instruction is given during theplayback of the image to a position a predetermined time after theplayback position.

(2) The information processing apparatus according to (1), wherein thecontrol unit combines and applies the multiple edit effects to the imageof the edit interval based on the edit information in a case of playingthe image for which the edit information is generated.

(3) The information processing apparatus according to (1) or (2),further including a display control unit displaying a selection screenfor the predetermined time and a type of the edit effect before a startof playback of the image.

(4) The information processing apparatus according to (3), wherein, in acase where one of the edit effects is selected as the edit effectapplied to the image of the edit interval, the generation unit generatesthe edit information including information indicating the one editeffect and information indicating the edit interval.

(5) The information processing apparatus according to (3) or (4),wherein the display control unit causes a timeline to be displayed inwhich an icon indicating an interval to which the edit effect is appliedis arranged in a start position of the edit interval.

(6) The information processing apparatus according to (5), wherein thedisplay control unit caused different icons to be displayed as an iconindicating an interval to which the multiple edit effects are appliedand an icon indicating an interval to which the one edit effect isapplied.

(7) The information processing apparatus according to (5) or (6),wherein the display control unit causes to be displayed in differentcolors an interval of the timeline corresponding to the edit interval towhich the multiple edit effects are applied, and an interval of thetimeline corresponding to the edit interval to which the one edit effectis applied.

(8) The information processing apparatus according to any one of (1) to(7), further including a management unit recording and managing the editinformation separately from the image.

(9) The information processing apparatus according to (8), wherein themanagement unit deletes information of the edit effect selected by auser, from the edit information.

(10) The information processing apparatus according to (8) or (9),wherein the management unit changes content of the edit effect selectedby a user and records information of the edit effect representing thechanged content, in the edit information.

(11) An information processing method including:

playing an image of an edit target; and

generating edit information including information indicating multipleedit effects applied in combination with the image of an edit intervaland information indicating the edit interval, where, in a playbackinterval of the image, the edit interval is an interval from a playbackposition at a time an instruction is given during the playback of theimage to a position a predetermined time after the playback position.

(12) A program causing a computer to execute:

playing an image of an edit target; and

generating edit information including information indicating multipleedit effects applied in combination with the image of an edit intervaland information indicating the edit interval, where, in a playbackinterval of the image, the edit interval is an interval from a playbackposition at a time an instruction is given during the playback of theimage to a position a predetermined time after the playback position.

The present disclosure contains subject matter related to that disclosedin Japanese Priority Patent Application JP 2011-284749 filed in theJapan Patent Office on Dec. 27, 2011, the entire content of which ishereby incorporated by reference.

What is claimed is:
 1. An information processing apparatus comprising: acontrol unit controlling playback of an image of an edit target; and ageneration unit generating edit information including informationindicating multiple edit effects applied in combination with the imageof an edit interval and information indicating the edit interval, where,in a playback interval of the image, the edit interval is an intervalfrom a playback position at a time an instruction is given during theplayback of the image to a position a predetermined time after theplayback position.